NJ/NYC deli style rolls

Hello!

I have spent my life in NJ/NYC and now am working at a restaurant in VT...we need to figure out how to make those hard rolls you can get with butter at QuickChek...WaWa...A&P...Pathmark....you know the ones? They cost about 50 cents and are so light on the inside and a thin, but crusty outside (not like a traditional german hardroll). They can also be similar to a portugese roll found in the same supermarkets.

Can anyone help? I've baked Kaiser roll after Kaiser roll...tried baking bun dough....tried simple white bread in bun form...nothing is working! I've tried trays of water and high temps to steam out the oven...i just cant do it!